1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a brush section for an electrically powered toothbrush and a method of use thereof, and more particularly to such a brush section having a partially disk shaped bristle carrier that has one or more bristle bearing protuberances or fingers extending therefrom, whereby in use the bristles on the extended fingers will provide increased contact with the oral gingival tissue for enhanced massaging thereof.
2. The Prior Art
It is well understood in the art that toothbrushes provide three major benefits, removal of plaque and food debris, to help in avoiding tooth decay and disease; removal of the stained pellicle on the surface of each tooth, for whitening; and massage, for stimulation and health of the gingival tissue. To achieve these benefits, manual toothbrushes which historically were produced with a flat trimmed bristle pattern are today commercially available with a myriad of alternative bristle patterns, such as, for example, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,537, U.S. Des. 387,562, and WO 99/23910.
The bristles of electric toothbrush are conventionally arranged in compact conical or cylindrical patterns on generally circular, disk shaped bristle carriers, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,215,031 and 5,467,495, respectively. U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,444 discloses an alternative, still relatively compact, generally oval bristle support and bristle pattern. Other alternative bristle patterns and carrier shapes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,559, still relatively compact, which include a pyramidal shape bristle pattern on a square carrier. Such compact bristle patterns provide efficient transfer of the rotation or oscillation motion of the electric toothbrush to the surface of each tooth to remove the build-up of plaque, debris, and stained pellicle therefrom; while minimizing the load on the brush motor to maximizing the battery life in battery powered electric toothbrushes. Such compact bristle patterns do not however, adequately provide for the third benefit desired of a toothbrush, that is the massage of the gingival tissue for the health thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,030 and U.S. Des. 397,252 disclose an electric toothbrush having a cylindrical bristle pattern extending from a first circular, or disk shaped bristle carrier with a first pivotal axis; and a second bristle carrier adjacent to the first bristle carrier, with rows of bristles tufts extending therefrom; which second bristle carrier reciprocates about a second pivotal axis. The cylindrical bristle pattern provides the conventional cleaning of the each tooth surface; while the rows of bristles tufts extending from the second bristle carrier provide cleaning within the interdental spaces. To provide such separate bristle carriers, with such separate motion requires a relatively complex drive mechanism.
There is a need in the art for an alternative electric toothbrush, with a relatively simple design which is relatively compact, to provide the benefits of removal of plaque, debris and stained pellicle from the tooth surfaces, while also providing enhanced massaging of the gingival tissue.